After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 27

Lin Qianman saw Tao Nian again the next day.

It was the day for regrouping and selecting stages again.

Tao Nian and Zhang Jingyue sat together in a corner, both more absent-minded than the other.

Zhang Jingyue couldn’t quite grasp that not only was she not eliminated, but her votes actually entered the top ten. She had been in a daze since last night.

Tao Nian, Tao Nian was completely weak from hunger.

She had lost a tooth, and although it was just one, her other teeth were also affected, making it particularly painful when she bit anything.

Everyone was preventing her from eating.

She had been drinking thin porridge for two days straight, which was more painful than even the diet meals she ate when she first joined Zhang Jingyue.

Now, she felt no taste in her mouth at all, and all she saw were strings of stars, wanting to bite anything she looked at.

Just then, she smelled a fragrant scent!

She subconsciously stood up, about to dart out.

Then, the next moment, seeing Lin Qianman appear, Tao Nian remembered Lin Qianman’s mockery of her yesterday, and the decision she made yesterday. She forcefully controlled her instincts to sit back down, giving Lin Qianman an eye-roll.

Ever since Tao Nian lost her tooth and couldn’t bite people with much force, the smile on Lin Qianman’s face hadn’t stopped.

Now she looked at Tao Nian in the corner, saw her swollen face give her an eye-roll, and the smile on her face couldn’t help but grow brighter and brighter.

Ah, a Taotie without teeth, wanting to bite but unable to, only able to roll her eyes, is truly adorable.

So adorable that Lin Qianman wanted to go over and pat her head, and then touch her lost tooth.

This time, Tao Nian and Zhang Jingyue were still in the same group. The two dazed girls followed along to look at the stage songs, then sat dazedly in the conference room with the mentors, discussing how to rearrange and create a better performance.

The room was small, and the fragrance on Lin Qianman became even stronger, seeming to linger right at the tip of her nose.

“I think this song is quite difficult and needs to be sung with enough heart, otherwise it could easily be a disaster. Later, when you…”

“Grrr, grrr, grrr…”

“…Later, when you divide parts, pay more attention. Some contestants might not be very good at this, so everyone should try to leverage their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses.”

“Grrr, grrr…”

“The corresponding stage difficulty is also quite high. If you have any ideas, be sure to communicate with the choreography teacher, finalize it as soon as possible, and then start practicing quickly.”

“Grrr, grrr, grrr…”

Everyone in the room finally couldn’t help but look at Tao Nian.

Tao Nian: “…”

Her face was swollen and expressionless.

Ding Yiyi, from the same group, held back a laugh, took off her microphone, and placed it on Tao Nian’s stomach.

Suddenly, the entire room was filled with the sound of her stomach rumbling.

She turned her head and saw Lin Qianman trembling with laughter, sprawled on the table.

Tao Nian: “…”

In the evening, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Even the mentor came over and said she could try to eat something that didn’t require much effort.

Then they gave Tao Nian a bowl of not-so-thin porridge, and a bowl of tasteless noodles…

Tao Nian finished eating with an expressionless face.

At night, she secretly snuck out, wearing a mask, to buy grilled sausages and jianbing (Chinese savory crepes).

The grilled sausages had to be those that were grilled until they burst open, with a layer of oil on the outside, looking glossy and smelling fragrant. The jianbing needed two eggs to properly balance the savory sauce, and a small packet of spicy strips. When she bit into the spicy strips, the red oil inside would burst out, super delicious!

Tao Nian sat by the jianbing stall, enduring the toothache as she gnawed on the jianbing, determined to eat until she was full, even if it killed her.

The jianbing’s wrapper was made of mixed grains, and biting into it gave a unique sweetness and chewiness. The outside was coated with egg wash, and inside was wrapped with dried shrimp, super fresh.

Tao Nian ate heartily, reaching the spicy strips in two bites.

The spicy strips were even chewier.

She endured the pain and bit hard.

She paused, feeling something wasn’t quite right.

But she still endured the pain and began to chew.

One bite, two bites, three bites.

The taste gradually started to change.

Chewing again, she bit something hard.

It was late, and almost no one was buying jianbing anymore. The owner’s wife picked up her phone and sat next to Tao Nian, playing. Seeing that she had stopped moving, she thought Tao Nian was full and done eating, so she casually pointed: “The tissues are over there, help yourself.”

She also reminded her: “Next time, if you can’t finish a whole one, you can tell me and just get half. Otherwise, like you, only eating a couple of bites each time, it’s such a waste.”

But she saw Tao Nian reach for a tissue, not to wipe her mouth, but to hold it to her lips.

She spat out a tooth.

It was midnight, the time when most young people hadn’t gone to sleep yet, lying in bed scrolling on their phones.

Liu Xiaobai had spent over two hours writing a proposal document. Now, tired, she closed her laptop and picked up her phone, planning to scroll through some gossip for a bit.

She skillfully opened her alt account.

Because she had been following Tao Nian recently, the software mostly recommended news about Tao Nian.

She suddenly scrolled past a Weibo (vb) post.

It was from a hospital, and the picture showed Tao Nian getting her tooth filled in the dental department.

The caption was: “Went to the hospital late at night and actually ran into a celebrity!”

Perhaps because of the high traffic recently, this Weibo post had only been out for an hour but already had many comments.

“Huh? This isn’t a celebrity, this is an ordinary person.”

“Didn’t Tao Nian chip her tooth two days ago? Why is the blogger only posting now (facepalm)?”

The blogger replied: “But I only saw her at the hospital today (facepalm).”

“Oh, maybe she went back to check on the repair, though there isn’t much to see after only two days…”

“No way? Looking at her posture, she wasn’t checking on a repair, but getting a tooth filled?”

“…But wasn’t she already done two days ago?”

Everyone was very confused.

At this point, a careful netizen noticed that in one of the photos, taken in the consultation room, showing Tao Nian with her mouth wide open for the doctor to see her teeth, Tao Nian was holding something in her hand, in a plastic bag, tightly clutched.

Zoom in, zoom in further, adjust clarity.

Inside the plastic bag was a brown paper bag, with “Secret Recipe Multi-grain Jianbing” written on it.

There were also oil stains on the bag, clearly indicating it had been eaten.

“Hahahahahahahaha why go to the hospital still holding a half-eaten jianbing? Help, I’ve thought of a possibility.”

“Me too…”

Liu Xiaobai watched this development, sighing, yet unable to control her laughter, and replied below: “Me too…”

“Why is this kid so miserable and funny, and so naughty? Didn’t anyone tell her she shouldn’t be eating jianbing at a time like this?!”

Why Tao Nian’s tooth fell out again seemed to become an open secret that everyone understood.

In short, now Lin Qianman, Fang Wen, Zhang Jingyue, and some other contestants who had a good relationship with Tao Nian were all gathered together, surrounding Tao Nian.

Expressionless, sighing.

They looked at Tao Nian, then lowered their heads, expressionless, sighing.

Fang Wen suddenly stood up, expressionless: “I’m going out for a bit.”

A moment later, Zhang Jingyue also stood up: “I’m going out for a bit too.”

Everyone stood up one after another, expressionless and with serious tones, as if the world was about to end the next second.

Tao Nian’s mouth was still stuffed with cotton, and she was also expressionless. Listening to her stomach rumble, she took the now cold jianbing out of the plastic bag, hooked her pinky finger, pulled out the spicy strip that had dislodged her tooth, and threw it away.

She glanced at Lin Qianman, who was still sitting in front of her, her face swollen: “You can laugh now.”

Lin Qianman completely broke down, bending over with laughter. She had been able to control herself before, but after Tao Nian said that, she simply couldn’t hold it in. She laughed so hard she had no strength to speak, coughed twice, and while slapping her thigh, asked: “Why are you so miserable, hahahahahahaha.”

Tao Nian: “…”

Expressionlessly, she pulled out another spicy strip from the jianbing, opened her mouth, and was about to put it in.

She couldn’t put it in; her mouth was still filled with cotton.

Tao Nian remembered what the doctor told her when she got her tooth filled, and began to despair.

Perhaps by luck, when she went this time, the same doctor who filled her tooth last time was there.

The doctor looked at this patient and found her somewhat familiar.

It seemed that two days ago, he also treated a very beautiful girl who had lost a very healthy canine tooth.

Then he looked again, hoo, it was the same person.

Hoo, and still the same tooth.

The doctor looked at the jianbing in Tao Nian’s hand, worriedly saying: “You can’t eat that! You need to be careful with your teeth. If you don’t restrict your diet, this tooth really won’t last.”

Tao Nian couldn’t make any more expressions. She expressionlessly put the spicy strip back into the jianbing, and placed the jianbing on the floor.

She wouldn’t eat it anymore.

Lin Qianman watched her action and couldn’t help but start laughing again.

After laughing for a while, she thought of the little Taotie’s appetite, and the scene of her stomach rumbling today. She felt both a pang of sadness and amusement, and told her: “Just bear with it for now. You can eat more noodles and steamed cakes these days. It’ll be fine after this period.”

Tao Nian: “…”

She couldn’t resist, and lunged towards Lin Qianman.

Because Tao Nian had lost a tooth and her mouth was still stuffed with cotton, or perhaps because Lin Qianman had been laughing for too long and her reactions were sluggish and she had no strength, Lin Qianman didn’t dodge, nor was she very afraid that Tao Nian would bite her.

She sat upright, watching Tao Nian pounce beside her, a look of grievance on her face, sniffing at her like a little puppy.

She had lost a tooth, and because her mouth was filled with cotton balls, her cheeks were puffy, very cute and harmless, making one want to feed her a big bone.

Lin Qianman reached out and did what she wanted to do earlier in the day. She patted Tao Nian’s head, then pinched Tao Nian’s chin, made her open her mouth, and carefully looked at her teeth.

She couldn’t help but smile again, and touched Tao Nian’s tooth: “It’s fine. Eat noodles for two days, and it’ll be good.”

The Qilin is a divine beast, carrying good fortune. Those blessed by a Qilin will receive good luck.

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside, Fang Wen leaned against the wall with one hand and covered her stomach with the other, when her phone suddenly rang.

She wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and glanced at the screen.

It was a call from her agent, whose voice on the other end was very anxious: “Tao Nian’s tooth fell out again?!”

Fang Wen nodded: “Yes, it fell out.”

She still couldn’t help but laugh: “She chipped it on a spicy strip while eating jianbing, hahahahahahaha.”

The agent interrupted her laughter: “It’s over! The milk sponsor for your show, who I told you about last time, wants Tao Nian to film an advertisement to be used on the show. They’ve scheduled it for the day after tomorrow.”

Fang Wen immediately became serious upon hearing this, and sent the agent a photo of Tao Nian’s current state: “Look, she’s this swollen. What do we do?”

The agent was helpless and could only say: “It’s too late now. I’ll talk to the sponsor tomorrow. What can we do with a swollen face?”

The next day, she messaged Fang Wen, her tone full of helplessness: “It’s fine if she’s swollen, let her be swollen. Anyway, everyone knows she chipped a tooth, so being swollen like this is quite interesting.”

Thus, on the third day, the still-swollen Tao Nian was packed and sent to a photo studio.